Undervalued


Our society and social media values winners at the expense of people behind the scenes. Our monthly blog will continue to reference winners but will also highlight undervalued contributors. Sports does a better job than financial services at recognition. We hope to change that this week. 

Training 

One our favorite training podcast is NPR’s Hidden Brian.  The host Shankar Vedantam shares opinions that we believe are correct but scientific facts prove that we are mistaken.  The shared beliefs can also impact our business life and the “blind spots” can cost our business and our clients.  Hidden Brain is a great reminder and it is free with your NPR donation, which I hope you are compelled to make after listening to Shankar.


Under Appreciated 

The NBA playoffs have reached the Conference Finals. While the stars will still make invaluable contributions they can’t win by themselves.  The supporting cast needs to contribute and their contributions are what separates the good from the great teams.  My Golden State Warriors need the contribution of sixth man Andre Iguodala to win with his timely three point shots and his stifling defense again the opponent's star.  Our favorite podcast highlighting the essential contributors in successful wealth management firms is the COO Roundtable.  You might have heard of their firms and their star players but they couldn’t have done it without their COOs. 


Solution 

Our clients know who makes the firm tick and you can often realize their opinion when they call and ask for your your colleague and and not you.  They know who gets things done and we should show our public appreciation of these sixth men (women) on our team.  Start with a verbal commendation and supplement it with a monetary recognition.  Firms that I have seen take this approach have higher professional and client retention levels.  



Verbal recognition feels a lot better than social media "likes".  Try it! You and your colleagues might like it.

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